OXFORD, Miss. – The No. 18 Fighting Irish dropped a hardfought 69-62 road game against No. 13 Ole Miss on Thursday night inside SJB Pavilion, dropping Notre Dame’s record to 5-2 on the season.
Hannah Hidalgo led all scorers in the game with 28 points while adding five steals, three rebounds and two assists. Malaya Cowles had her best game in an Irish uniform with 12 points on an efficient 6-of-9 shooting while also recording five rebounds and a block.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Notre Dame got out of the gates quickly, jumping out to an early 10-4 lead before the hosts got hot from the field and tied the contest at 14-14 midway through the quarter. The Irish closed the quarter strongly, scoring the final 12 points of the first frame to take a 26-14 lead after the opening 10 minutes of play.
Notre Dame carried its momentum into the second stanza, scoring nine of the first 11 points to open up a 19-point lead at 35-16 with five minutes left in the half. Gisela Sanchez played a big role, hitting a three and a layup to spur the run.
Ole Miss refused to go away, closing the half on a 13-2 run to trim the Notre Dame lead to single digits at 37-29 heading into the break.
Over the first 5 minutes of the third quarter the Irish lead fluctuated between five and seven points, as the two sides traded buckets, moving the score to 43-38. The Rebels closed the quarter by outscoring Notre Dame 12-6 to take a one-point lead into the final 10 minutes of regulation.
The game was back and forth over the first 5 minutes of the fourth frame with each team scoring seven points to move the score to 57-56 in favor of the hosts. Ole Miss then scored back-to-back baskets to push its lead to five at 61-56, its largest of the night.
The Irish managed to cut the lead to a one-possession game at 63-60 with 37 seconds left but that was as close as they would get as the Rebels won by a final score of 69-62.
UP NEXT
The Fighting Irish remain on the road, traveling to Tallahassee to open ACC play against Florida State. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 7 and the game will be streamed on ACCNX.